I learned a lot from this activity – both about the tools I chose to analyze, and from my group partners – we teach in different environments, and we have a different eye, yet same goals in wanting to support learning.
Wiki
1. Wikis are websites that can be edited via a web browser without knowledge of html
2. Wikis support collaboration with the possibility of more than one person generating the content
3. Wikis are accessible from any location connected to the internet (great for individuals working on a project and who cannot easily meet)
4. Wikis are published to a large audience
5. Wikis afford traceability/history with older versions of a documents being saved each time a Wiki document is edited
6. Permissions make it possible to limit the number of contributors and readers
7. Wikis provide free online collaborative writing spaces
8. Wikis can contain links to other content
9. Wikis can be easily found via search engines
10. Wiki allow to demonstrate students’ abilities (beyond the classroom and test results)
Wiki Activities
• Collaborative learning activities – group projects
• Sharing of resources
• Service learning activities (group project results on Wiki)
• Peer editing of written work
• Develop Wiki as ePortfolio to showcase student written work (include first draft and final to show progress)
Websites
1. Websites allow to publish students’ research and work, or class information
2. Website creation allows to practice skills in planning, writing and revising
3. Increase knowledge on specific content
4. Foster collaborative approach to use of internet
5. Affords interaction outside of classroom and wider audience for written work
6. Websites allow to demonstrate students’ abilities (beyond the classroom and test results)
Websites Activities
• Collaborative activities
• Publish collection of students’ short stories, poems, reports, project results
• Service learning activities (group project results on Website)
• WebQuests
• Develop website as an ePortfolio to showcase student written work (include first and final draft to show progress)
After reading my group members’ comments, a few things I would like to add:
A Word of Caution:
Wikis are simpler to use than websites, but everything written is public and contributions can be edited by other contributors unless the page has been locked.
Creating websites was very difficult in the past and required knowledge of html, although technological advances make it possible today to publish websites without extensive knowledge of html. However, schools still need to provide the tools and the hosting space. Wikis can be hosted for free.
Opinion/rationale I see for using both tools with writing activities in education
Being posted on the web, Wikis and websites allow writing activities to gain a large audience outside of the teacher student relation and outside the classroom.
Wikis are a great medium for writing activities because they allow one to see the writing in process since it is possible to go back to every draft of a Wiki document via the History.
I believe wikis can truly foster collaborative work and keep student engaged in the creative process.
In that way, they would be well used in any student-centered, constructivist teaching methodology.
Both websites and wikis engage learners, and provide opportunities for critical thinking, analysis, and internet literacy.
The difference between a blog and a wiki is that the blog affords one to many communication, while wiki allows many to many communication and ability for all to collaborate and communicate.
References & resources you might be interested in
PBwiki seems to offer free wikis, add-free, for educators – I think this might be a better tool than the basic wiki which has google ads.
http://pbwiki.com/education.wiki
Examples of educational wikis:
http://educationalwikis.wikispaces.com/Examples+of+educational+wikis
Info on using wikis in the classroom
http://writingwiki.org/default.aspx/WritingWiki/For%20Teachers%20New%20to%20Wikis.html
Another tool – for collaborative writing
http://www.writeboard.com/
http://www.writeboard.com/examples/
Other things I stumbled upon while researching wikis etc….
Tell me and I'll forget.
Show me, and I may not remember.
Involve me, and I'll understand.
Native American Saying
Found on “Empowering Student Learning with Web Publishing”
http://www.fi.edu/fellows/fellow1/jan99/index.html
